Thursday, 20 December 2012

UK HEIs, along with institutions throughout the developed and developing world, are in the midst of a digital revolution that is changing the face of all areas of academic life. Digital technologies give students access to an ever wider range of resources for study and also provide the means to efficiently navigate and use them, with yet more digital tools facilitating data collection and analysis. Social networking media and podcasting are transforming academic communication and dissemination. This rapidly changing digital environment presents challenges to HEIs in developing the policies and strategies to drive and shape these developments.

This workshop will explore the developments and successful strategies to emerge in recent years, and encourage debate on the challenges, ethical issues and the perceived barriers in bringing forth the Digital Future of UK HEIs

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Wednesday, 19 December 2012

The LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies will hold its 8th annual e-learning symposium on 24/25th January 2013. The aim of the symposium is to seek to bridge the gap between the 'techie' and the teacher, giving educators ideas to help them integrate e-learning into their practice but also to inspire them to see where the online future could lead. The symposium is always well-attended by practitioners from a wide range of disciplines and institutions.

Developing Graduate Attributes through the Sustainability Agenda and Problem-Based Learning

Glyndwr University, Wrexham

Tuesday 29th January 2013, 10am – 4 pm

This free, one-day workshop at Glyndwr University, Wrexham, focuses on the development of graduate attributes and the provision of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), using an interdisciplinary, ‘Hybrid’ Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach. Traditionally, PBL is staff –intensive, small-group teaching. A hybrid or blended learning approach provides online support for learning, to make it cost-effective.

This workshop is the outcome of a national, three-year project, funded by the Higher Education Academy, entitled ‘Hybrid problem-based learning: a scalable approach to sustainability education?’. The project is a collaboration between Keele University, The University of Manchester and Staffordshire University, who all run different Hybrid-PBL courses in sustainability education. The Hybrid-PBL approach has been developed to enable the delivery of PBL-style teaching to larger student numbers in a less resource intensive way for the development of Graduate Attributes and the teaching and learning of sustainability issues. This approach will be explored during the day, along with links to other pressing agendas in Higher Education including Employability, and Internationalisation.

This workshop is aimed at educators from any discipline, from university, Further Education, and other with teaching responsibilities, who have interests in developing:

1) problem-based learning approaches2) education for sustainability3) graduate attributes and 4) the use of social media in teaching.

Developing Graduate Attributes through the Sustainability Agenda and Problem-Based Learning

Glyndwr University, Wrexham

Tuesday 29th January 2013, 10am – 4 pm

This free, one-day workshop at Glyndwr University, Wrexham, focuses on the development of graduate attributes and the provision of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), using an interdisciplinary, ‘Hybrid’ Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach. Traditionally, PBL is staff –intensive, small-group teaching. A hybrid or blended learning approach provides online support for learning, to make it cost-effective.

This workshop is the outcome of a national, three-year project, funded by the Higher Education Academy, entitled ‘Hybrid problem-based learning: a scalable approach to sustainability education?’. The project is a collaboration between Keele University, The University of Manchester and Staffordshire University, who all run different Hybrid-PBL courses in sustainability education. The Hybrid-PBL approach has been developed to enable the delivery of PBL-style teaching to larger student numbers in a less resource intensive way for the development of Graduate Attributes and the teaching and learning of sustainability issues. This approach will be explored during the day, along with links to other pressing agendas in Higher Education including Employability, and Internationalisation.

This workshop is aimed at educators from any discipline, from university, Further Education, and other with teaching responsibilities, who have interests in developing:

1) problem-based learning approaches2) education for sustainability3) graduate attributes and 4) the use of social media in teaching.

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

The HEA is running a workshop and seminar series in the thematic areas of employability, flexible learning and internationalisation. Each seminar will be hosted and delivered by an HE institution and will focus on aspects of learning and teaching.

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

This is a call for contributions to the Academic Practice and Technology Conference at the University of Greenwich. This year’s conference is entitled "Next Generation Learning Places and Work Spaces” and takes place on 2nd July 2013 on the University of Greenwich World Heritage Campus.

The conference will explore themes around the complex interaction between post-compulsory education, technology and work, and aims to:

·Explore the impact of 'disruptive' technologies on the student and academic experience, and on learning teaching and assessment in post-compulsory education

·Share practices, tools and approaches that have enhanced the use of technology to support learner and employment engagement

·Explore the changing roles of employers and post compulsory education within an international digital workspace

·Present research into the impact of technology-led learning on employer engagement, curriculum design, and work based learning

·Create a platform for students’ perspectives on the benefits of graduate skills and attributes for enhancing international and local employability

·Set an agenda for the on-going debate about the relationship between universities, colleges, new e-learners and globalised e-employers

Contributions to the conference programme are sought from practitioners and researchers and students in all education and training sectors that contribute to the discourses and sit within one of the following three key themes:

·The impact of ‘disruptive’ technologies on next generation learning places and work spaces, and the people who work and live in and around them

·Enabling student learning and employability through next generation learning places and work spaces

·Curriculum design in a digital age

Closing date for submissions is: Monday 15th April 2013

Papers:

Contributions may take the following formats: case study; practitioner-led inquiry; research paper/work in progress; developmental/research project report, posters. We would particularly welcome innovative session formats such as round table discussions and workshops.

Posters

We also welcome the submission of posters, which can represent shorter or more preliminary projects or ideas. These will be presented in a Pecha Kucha format. The Pecha Kucha format originated in Tokyo in 2003. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", it follows a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: each presenter has 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds on a timer. Thus, each presenter has just 6 minutes and 40 seconds to explain their ideas before the next takes the stage. Conceived as a venue through which young designers could meet, show their work, exchange ideas, and network, the format keeps presentations concise and fast-paced

All abstracts (500 words for papers, 100 words for posters) will be double blind refereed.

Successful contributors will be allocated one free place at the conference. The conference organisers must receive confirmation of acceptance, by registering by the presenter registration deadline (see important dates below). Additional colleagues wishing to co-present will be offered the ‘early bird’ discounted rate but must register by the same deadline as the main proposer. After this date all co-presenters will be charged the full rate. A maximum of one free place will also be given to a student presenter or student co-presenter for each presentation. Additional student co-presenters will be charged at the ‘early bird’ discounted rate. Reflective papers may be submitted to our teaching and learning journal Compass: http://www.gre.ac.uk/compass by November 2013

“Do we have to teach so much Statistical Hypothesis Inference Testing?”

Paul Hewson

This workshop will review tried and tested activities that develop learners abilities to reason with data, and argue that plugging and chugging on paper should not be replaced with analogous tasks on a computer. Participants will join in some activities designed to help learners understand threshold concepts. We may briefly illustrate why we believe this delivers better learning, as well as helping deal with maths phobia. We will also argue that a reasoning approach produces more employable graduates as a result of a better understanding how statistical methods are a core part of gaining knowledge rather than some strange ritual that is done after we have gained knowledge in order to be allowed to publish.

“Development of a statistics advisory service at a new university”

Peter Samuels

Like many new universities, Birmingham City University does not have a mathematics department but many students are expected to analyse quantitative data in their final year and postgraduate projects. Therefore, the University launched a Statistics Advisory Service in 2011. Since then it received additional funding from the National HE STEM Programme enabling it to increase capacity, develop resources and form partnerships with faculty-based staff. This presentation evaluates the effectiveness of the different strategies adopted by the University. In particular, the development of a series of statistical methods workshops and Staff Development training courses in Excel and SPSS are highlighted.

refeshments

“Peer Assisted Learning: The way forward for engagement with statistics?”

This workshop will provide an overview of the peer assisted learning module, which is a final year optional module in Psychology at Roehampton, in which third year students (peer assisters) support first year students with their statistics and research methods learning . The aim of the module is to enhance the learning experience and statistics understanding for both first years and the peer assisters. The workshop will be delivered through a series of interactive dialogues with the staff and students involved with this module about the strengths and shortcomings of this approach. The workshop will be facilitated by the academic staff responsible for the module, two peer assisters and one student that has been peer assisted.

“Online statistical methods”

Basil Turnbull Wolf

We recognise that statistical concepts are not intuitive and pose particular problems for students who fear mathematics. Many students require one-to-one teaching and encouragement to overcome their fears and their instinct to avoid, rather than solve, problems. We aim to provide an environment where students are encouraged to overcome their difficulties in understanding and where one-to-one teaching is available to those who need it most. A description of our approach follows:

An on-line course in basic statistical methods is used for a module of over 350 students in agricultural and biological sciences. Short lectures and demonstrations of SPSS software are delivered via the BlackBoard VLE. Data sets tailored to the subject interests of the students are provided and linked to formative quizzes that test understanding of concepts and ability to conduct and interpret analyses. Feedback is provided and we require a pass mark of 75% before progression to further formative or summative exercises. Progress is monitored in the grade data base. Support is available through a course handbook, discussion board and workshops.

Networking Lunch

“Using quizzes to support learning about basic statistics”

Geraldine Jones, Melanie Burton, Anita McGrogan

Aim: To explore the pedagogical uses of statistics quizzes;

Context: A cross-disciplinary team at the University of Bath have designed and implemented a (Moodle) question bank to facilitate self-directed learning of basic statistics through questions and associated feedback links. The quizzes have been successfully trialled with undergraduate students.

We will present a case study including

- Question bank development

- Statistics topics covered

- Pedagogical purposes of the quizzes

- Quiz engine strengths and weaknesses

- Student experiences

“Data into words”

Sam Bamkin

The Data into Words session demystifies the writing of statistics, which is important for dissemination - or, from a student perspective, getting the marks they deserve after conducting the experiment and analysis. It has the wide aims of engaging students with the purposes of using words to describe results, confidence in using a strategy to write stats, before opening up some strategies and practising writing during the session itself.

We will discuss the teaching approach and possible anxieties of students, how we broach the question of writing, the strategies we share with students, and the importance of getting writing done during the session.

This session will introduce some resources designed to help A level students understand statistics in the context of other subjects. These resources are now freely available and could be useful to universities in supporting the development of statistical understanding in first year undergraduates.

“Improving the Teaching of Statistics through Student Projects”

Eugenie Hunsinker

This presentation will describe an ongoing project undertaken at

Loughborough University that brings eight final year project students in mathematics together with five members of staff who altogether teach five modules in statistical methodology to students in four different departments in the university: mathematics, engineering, information science and sport science. The project as a whole is managed and overseen by a member of staff in mathematics.

The goals of the project are

1) To produce teaching resources appropriate to students in the five modules, to complement the teaching in those modules.

2) To give final year mathematics project students and the project coordinator a feel for how statistics is used in several disciplines.

3) To give final year mathematics project students a sense of what it is like to do statistical consulting.

4) To share ideas on best statistical practice across disciplines in the university.

This presentation will describe how the project got started, how it is being implemented, and the progress to date on the goals above, including some examples of resources produced by the project.